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A6RICULIURAL 
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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  NO.  243 


CORN  VARIETIES  FOR  CHINCH-BUG 
INFESTED  AREAS 


IN    COOPERATION    WITH    THE    NATURAL    HISTORY    SURVEY, 
ILLINOIS    DEPARTMENT    OF   REGISTRATION   AND    EDUCATION 

• 

BY  W.  P.  FLINT  AND  J.  C.  HACKLEMAN 


COMPLETE  DESTRUCTION  BY  SECOND-BROOD  CHINCH-BUGS 
OF  A  VERY  SUSCEPTIBLE  VARIETY  OF  CORN 


URBANA,   ILLINOIS,  APRIL,   1923 


CORN  VARIETIES   FOR  CHINCH-BUG 
INFESTED  AREAS 

BY  W.  P.  FLINT,  CHIEF  ENTOMOLOGIST,  ILLINOIS  NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY,  AND 
J.  C.  HACKLEMAN,  ASSOCIATE  PROFESSOR  OF  FARM  CROPS  EXTENSION 

EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  TO  DETERMINE  VARIETAL 
RESISTANCE 

Results  obtained  from  experimental  work  conducted  in  Illinois 
during  the  past  five  years,  as  well  as  observations  in  many  farmers' 
fields,  show  that  several  varieties  of  corn  are  resistant  to  chinch-bugs. 
This  experimental  work,  herein  reported,  dealt  only  with  resistance 
to  the  second  brood  of  chinch-bugs.  There  is  no  assurance  that  the 
resistant  varieties  described  below  will  be  immune  to  first-brood  at- 
tack. It  is  necessary,  therefore,  when  corn  is  planted  adjacent  to 
fields  of  small  grain,  to  protect  the  resistant  varieties,  as  well  as  others, 
from  first-brood  infestation  by  means  of  barriers  at  harvest  time. 

Prior  to  1917  no  experimental  work  had  been  done  to  test  varie- 
ties of  corn  for  chinch-bug  resistance.  Observations  made  during  the 
summer  of  1916  and  1917  on  corn  grown  in  Randolph  county  showed 
that  a  variety  known  locally  as  Democrat  seemed  to  be  resistant  to 
chinch-bugs.  In  1918,  experiments  to  test  the  varietal  resistance  of 
several  kinds  of  corn  were  conducted  in  Randolph  county  under  the 
cooperation  of  the  Randolph  County  Farm  Bureau  and  the  State 
Natural  History  Survey.  The  varieties  included  in  these  experiments 
were  the  local  Democrat,  Iowa  Silvermine,  Boone  County  White,  Sut- 
ton's  Favorite,  St.  Charles  County  White,  Reid's  Yellow  Dent,  and 
Yellow  Ninety  Day.  The  field  was  heavily  infested  with  the  second- 
brood  bugs.  Early  in  October  the  corn  was  cut  and  weighed.  The 
yield  of  Democrat  weighed  more  than  three  times  as  much  as  the 
yield  of  the  other  varieties;  in  fact  it  was  the  only  variety  that  pro- 
duced corn  fit  to  crib. 

In  1919  Democrat  and  local  strains  of  Reid's  Yellow  Dent  were 
planted  in  alternate  two-row  strips  in  two  different  fields,  one  of 
fifteen  acres  located  near  Centralia  in  Marion  county,  and  one  of 
twenty  acres  near  Plainview  in  Macoupin  county.  The  first  brood 
of  bugs  was  kept  out  of  these  fields  by  means  of  barriers,  but  there 
was  a  heavy  infestation  by  the  second  brood.  By  September,  the 
two  varieties  could  be  distinguished  at  a  distance  of  at  least  40  rods. 
Approximately  80  percent  of  the  stalks  of  Democrat  were  standing, 
while  nearly  all  the  stalks  of  Reid's  Yellow  Dent  had  fallen  as  the 
result  of  the  work  of  chinch-bugs.  The  difference  in  the  yields  of 
these  fields  was  practically  10  bushels  to  the  acre  in  favor  of  Demo- 

540 


CORN  VARIETIES  FOR  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTED  AREAS 


541 


crat.  The  Democrat  was  well  matured  and  in  good  condition  for 
cribbing,  while  the  Reid 's  Yellow  Dent*  was  soft  and  spongy  and 
practically  worthless. 

In  1920,  the  Agronomy  Department  of  the  University  of  Illinois 
entered  into  the  work  and  the  scope  of  the  experiments  was  enlarged 
and  a  number  of  new  varieties  were  added  to  the  tests.  These  varie- 
ties were  selected  because  of  their  known  resistance  to  drouth  and 
their  supposed  adaptability  to  the  type  of  soil  found  in  the  counties 
most  heavily  infested  with  chinch-bugs.  Certain  of  these  varieties  of 
corn  were  secured  from  the  Office  of  Corn  Investigations  of  the  Bu- 
reau of  Plant  Industry,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  others  were  brought  from 


FIG.  1. — TYPICAL  INJURY  BY  SECOND-BROOD  CHINCH-BUGS  IN  FIELD 
OF  NON-RESISTANT  CORN 

nearby  states.  As  in  previous  tests,  the  first  brood  of  bugs  was  kept 
out  of  the  field  by  barriers,  but  there  was  a  uniform  and  heavy  in- 
festation by  the  second  brood.  By  September  6,  every  stalk  of  two 
varieties,  Northwestern  Dent  and  Gehu,  had  been  killed.  The  corn 
was  shucked  the  latter  part  of  October.  Democrat  yielded  approxi- 
mately 17  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  Black  Hawk  nearly  as  much.  Nine 
of  the  varieties  made  less  than  10  bushels  to  the  acre  and  four  of 
them  less  than  3  bushels. 


542  BULLETIN  No.  243  [April, 

During  the  same  year  two  fields  of  about  twenty  acres  each,  lo- 
cated in  the  southern  part?  of  Macoupin  county,  where  chinch-bugs 
were  very  abundant,  were  each  planted  one-half  to  Eeid's  Yellow 
Dent  and  one-half  to  Democrat.  The  Reid's  Yellow  Dent  was  so 
badly  injured  by  chinch-bugs  that  it  failed  to  mature  any  sound  ears 
and  none  of  it  was  shucked.  The  Democrat  yielded  approximately 
21  bushels  to  the  acre  in  one  of  the  fields  and  25  bushels  in  the  other. 


FIG.  2. — HIGHLY  RESISTANT  VARIETY  GROWING  IN 
SAME  FIELD  AS  THAT  SHOWN  ON  THE  COVER  PAGE 

In  1921,  experiment  plots  to  test  chinch-bug  resistance  were  planted 
in  Wabash,  Eandolph,  Macoupin,  and  Piatt  counties.  On  these  plots 
the  different  varieties  of  corn  were  planted  in  four-row  strips  one 
hundred  hills  long,  and  the  plots  were  duplicated.  The  first  brood 
of  bugs  was  kept  out  of  the  fields  by  barriers  where  necessary.  In 
Piatt  county  the  plots  were  only  very  slightly  infested.  In  Randolph 
county  the  infestation  was  moderate,  while  in  Macoupin  county  the 
bugs  were  very  abundant.  The  crops  on  the  plots  in  Wabash  county 
were  destroyed  by  hail. 

As  in  previous  experiments,  Democrat,  Black  Hawk,  and  Champion 
White  Pearl  stood  up  much  better  and  matured  better  than  any  of 
the  other  varieties.  In  Macoupin  county,  Democrat  yielded  25  bushels 
of  sound,  marketable  corn  to  the  acre,  as  compared  with  41/2  bushels 


192S] 


CORN  VARIETIES  FOE  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTED  AREAS 


543 


FIG.  3. — COMPARATIVE  YIELDS  OF  REID'S  YELLOW  DENT  (AT  THE  LEFT)  AND 
CHAMPION  WHITE  PEARL  (AT  THE  RIGHT)  UNDER  HEAVY  CHINCH-BUG 
INFESTATION.  NOTE  DIFFERENCE  IN  QUALITY  AS  WELL  AS  IN  QUANTITY 

of  sound  corn  yielded  by  Reid's  Yellow  Dent.  On  the  plots  in  Ran- 
dolph county,  Democrat,  Black  Hawk,  and  Champion  White  Pearl 
were  about  equal  in  yield,  with  the  other  varieties  producing  about 
one-half  as  much  per  acre. 

In  1922  another  series  of  experiments  similar  to  those  of  1921 
was  carried  on  in  Cass,  Macoupin,  Macon,  and  Crawford  counties. 
The  crops  on  the  Crawford  county  plots  were  destroyed  by  hail  and 
wind.  In  Cass  county  the  infestation  was  slight,  while  in  Macoupin 
and  Macon  counties  bugs  were  present  in  moderate  numbers.  Under 
these  conditions,  as  in  previous  tests,  Democrat,  Black  Hawk,  and 
Champion  White  Pearl  showed  their  superiority,  both  in  production 
of  stalks  and  in  yield  of  sound  corn. 

SUMMARY  OF  EXPERIMENTS 

In  Table  1  is  shown  the  percentage  rating,  as  regards  yield  under 
moderate  to  severe  chinch-bug  infestation,  of  the  varieties  of  corn 
tested  in  these  experiments,  the  yield  of  Democrat  being  taken  as  100 
percent.  In  Table  2  is  shown  the  percentage  rating  of  a  number  of 
these  same  varieties  under  slight  infestation. 

A  study  of  Table  1  shows  clearly  that  in  these  experiments  in 
which  moderate  to  severe  chinch-bug  infestation  was  present,  Cham- 
pion White  Pearl,  Democrat,  Black  Hawk,  and  with  one  year's  ex- 
ception, Golden  Beauty,  far  outyielded  all  the  other  varieties  included 
in  these  tests. 

From  observations  made  in  the  field  during  the  course  of  these 
experiments,  the  greater  yield  of  certain  corn  varieties  seems  to  be 
due  to  vigor  of  the  plants  as  indicated  by  certain  varietal  character- 


544 


BULLETIN-  No.  243 


[April 


TABLE  1. — CORN  VARIETIES  GROWN  UNDER  MODERATE  TO  SEVERE  CHINCH-BUG 
INFESTATION,  SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  RATING  WITH  RESPECT  TO  YIELD: 

EXPERIMENT  PLOTS  IN  SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS 
(Based  on  the  yield  of  Democrat  as  100  percent) 


t 

1918 

1920 

IS 

21 

1£ 

22 

Variety 

Ran- 
dolph 
county 

Ran- 
dolph 
county 

Macou- 
pin- 
county 

Ran- 
dolph 
county 

Macou- 
pin 
county 

Macon 
county 

Democrat  

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

Iowa  Silvermine  

31  07 

Reid's  Yellow  Dent  

20  75 

20  61 

60  96 

68  23 

Boone  County  White 

18  86 

25  19 

Button's  Favorite  .  

St.  Charles  County  White2 

i 

106  74 

Funk's  Ninety  Day  

i 

Black  Hawk  

87  27 

76  73 

111  56 

117  37 

119  79 

St.  Charles  County  White  . 

75  75 

3  98 

Arlington  Prolific    

66  66 

20  61 

42  65 

Pride  of  Saline  

56  36 

U.  S.  Selection  No.  77  .... 

45  45 

Freed  White  Dent  

40  00 

Colby  Blood}'  Butcher.  .  .  . 

30  30 

Lancaster  Surecrop  

20  00 

18  32 

46  98 

U.  S.  Selection  No.  133  ... 

15  15 

Minnesota  No.  13  

13  33 

Northwestern  Dent  

0 

Gehu  

0 

Champion  White  Pearl.  .  .  . 

90  47 

113  37 

127  56 

118  25 

Commercial  White  

50  38 

82  41 

Golden  Beauty  

34  35 

105  80 

114  64 

Hickory  King  

29  77 

50  36 

Pride  of  the  Prairie  

21  75 

55  90 

Printz  Yellow  Dent  

77  90 

47  12 

Mohawk  

93  64 

100  73 

Funk's  Yellow  Dent  

72.20 

'By  inspection,  yield  was  estimated  to  be  less  than  that  of  Boone  County 
White,  which  ranked  18.86  percent. 
Specially  selected  seed. 

istics,  such  as  large  and  sturdy  stalks,  a  well-developed  root  system, 
and  a  large  leaf  surface. 

Field  observations  have  shown  no  marked  difference  in  the  num- 
ber of  bugs  present  on  the  different  varieties  of  corn  when  growing 
together.  It  would  be  supposed,  if  it  were  merely  a  matter  of  pref- 
erence on  the  part  of  the  bugs,  that  when  resistant  and  non-resistant 
varieties  were  growing  together  the  bugs  would  be  found  in  greater 
numbers  on  the  non-resistant  varieties.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case, 
which  fact  indicates  that  some  varieties  are  resistant  to  injury,  and 
not  merely  distasteful  to  the  bugs. 

PRACTICAL  EESULTS  OBTAINED  BY  FARMERS 

As  a  result  of  this  experimental  work,  farmers  in  the  chinch-bug 
infested  area  in  the  west  and  west-central  part  of  the  state  during 


1923] 


CORX  VARIETIES  FOR  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTED  AREAS 


545 


TABLE  2. — CORN  VARIETIES  GROWN   UNDER  SLIGHT  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTA- 
TION, SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  RATING  WITH  RESPECT  TO  YIELD: 
EXPERIMENT  PLOTS  IN  CENTRAL  ILLINOIS 

(Based  on  the  yield  of  Democrat  as  100  percent) 


Variety 

1921 
Piatt 
Qounty 

1922 

Cass 
county 

Democrat  

percent 
100  00 

percent 
100  00 

Black  Hawk  

104  68 

95  54 

St.  Charles  County  White  

90  08 

Champion  White  Pearl  

97  32 

97  73 

Golden  Beauty1  

122  12 

104  41 

Northwestern  Dent  

0 

Pride  of  the  Prairie  

109  25 

Lancaster  Surecrop  

100  08 

Arlington  Prolific2  

138.42 

Commercial  White'  

134  29 

Reid's  Yellow  Dent  

112  94 

91  91 

Long  John  (Local  variety)  

116  61 

Sheffer's  White  Corn  (Local'  variety) 

109  25 

Prints!  Yellow  Dent  

94  00 

Funk's  Yellow  Dent  

92  26 

Mohawk  

95.74 

'First  class  in  quality. 


"Immature,  poor  quality. 


FIG.  4. — STALKS  AND  EARS  FROM  TEN  HILLS  OF  DEMOCRAT  (AT  THE  LEFT), 
IOWA  SILVER  MINE  (CENTER),  AND  REID'S  YELLOW  DENT  (AT  THE  RIGHT)  GROWN 
UNDER  HEAVY  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTATION 

The  relative  productivity  of  resistant  varieties  is  as  marked  in  their  yields 
of  forage  as  in  their  yields  of  ear  corn.  This  fact  makes  them  especially  desirable 
lor  silage  purposes  under  chinch-bug  infestation. 


546  BULLETIN  No.  243  [April, 

the  last  two  years  have  widely  grown  the  varieties  of  corn  which 
gave  the  highest  yields  under  infestation.  Democrat,  or  Champion 
White  Pearl,  has  been  most  generally  grown.  The  results  on  the 
whole  have  been  very  good.  Increases  in  yield  ranging  from  2  to  27 
bushels  to  the  acre  have  been  reported  as  the  result  of  using  these 
varieties. 

ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOME  OF  THE 
VARIETIES  TESTED 

It  is  impossible  to  give  a  complete  account  of  the  origin  and  de- 
velopment of  all  the  varieties  of  corn  studied  in  these  trials  because 
of  the  fact  that  of  some  varieties  nothing  is  known  regarding  their 
early  history.  A  few  brief  statements  follow,  however,  concerning 
the  origin  of  a  number  of  the  varieties.  Such  common  varieties  as 
Reid's  Yellow  Dent,  Boone  County  White,  and  Silvermine,  are  not 
included,  since  most  farmers  are  doubtless  familiar  with  their  history. 
In  some  cases,  where  no  records  were  available,  it  has  been  necessary 
to  piece  together  a  description  from  accounts  given  by  the  older 
farmers,  who  were  obliged  to  depend  largely  upon  their  memories. 

Champion  White  Pearl  originated  thru  the  crossing  and  recrossing 
of  several  varieties  of  dent  corn  from  different  states.  Mr.  James 
Suffern  of  Piatt  county,  Illinois,  states  that  he  used  for  the  cross 
Hickory  King,  Ohio  White  Dent,  Wisconsin  White  Dent,  White  Nor- 
mandy (from  Missouri),  and  about  ten  other  varieties  from  Iowa, 
Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  and  Nebraska. 
This  crossing  process  was  followed  by  about  twenty  years  of  continu- 
ous systematic  selection.  Champion  White  Pearl  matures  in  about 
110  to  115  days. 

Democrat  is  a  local  strain  of  a  pearly  white  dent  corn.  It  is 
grown  extensively  in  southwestern  Illinois  in  Randolph,  Perry,  and 
Washington  counties.  The  first  seed  for  these  trials  was  secured  from 
Amos  Glen  of  Randolph  county,  but  the  original  source  of  the 
variety  is  not  known.  When  the  Randolph  County  Farm  Bureau 
was  organized  in  the  summer  of  1917,  the  first  farm  adviser,  Mr.  J. 
J.  Doerschuk,  found  many  farmers,  especially  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  county,  growing  a  corn  which  they  called  Democrat.  In  ear  char- 
acter, habit  of  growth,  and  general  adaptability,  Democrat  is  not  dis- 
tinguishable from  Champion  White  Pearl.  It  would  seem  logical, 
therefore,  to  conclude  that  the  so-called  Democrat  corn  is  probably 
a  strain  of  Champion  White  Pearl  which  has  been  grown  in  Ran- 
dolph county  for  a  period  of  at  least  thirty  years.  The  time  of  ma- 
turity of  Democrat  is  the  same  as  that  of  Champion  White  Pearl. 

Black  Hawk  is  a  medium-maturing,  yellow-capped,  red  dent  va- 
riety which  has  been  grown  in  the  vicinity  of  Red  Bud,  Monroe  county. 


1928}  CORN  VARIETIES  FOR  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTED  AREAS  547 

Illinois,  for  a  number  of  years.  This  section  of  the  county  has  been 
more  or  less  infested  with  chinch-bugs  for  a  period  of  twelve  years. 
Black  Hawk  is  said  to  have  given  uniformly  better  yields  than  other 
varieties  under  this  infestation.  It  requires  about  115  days  to  mature. 

Golden  Beauty  is  a  medium-late  maturing,  orange-yellow,  dent 
corn  which  has  been  grown  in  Jackson  county  near  Carbondale  for 
at  least  forty-six  years.  The  exact  origin  of  this  strain  is  unknown. 
The  first  seed  was  purchased  by  Mr.  F.  P.  Parrish  of  Carbondale, 
from  an  Indiana  seed  firm,  the  name  and  location  of  which  Mr. 
Parrish  was  unable  to  recall.  In  ear  and  stalk  characters,  this  corn 
resembles  a  well-known  variety,  called  Golden  Beauty,  which  is  grown 
more  or  less  generally  in  Pennsylvania  and  other  eastern  states. 
Samples  of  Golden  Beauty  seed,  secured  from  a  Pennsylvania  seed 
company  and  seeded  in  Illinois  in  1922,  produced  a  crop  of  corn  which, 
in  general  appearance,  was  not  distinguishable  from  that  grown  from 
seed  secured  in  Jackson  county.  These  facts  would  seem  to  warrant 
the  belief  that  this  is  a  local  strain  of  the  variety  Golden  Beauty. 

Mohawk  is  a  medium-late  maturing,  local  variety  found  in  Madi- 
son county.  Its  origin  is  unknown,  altho  old  residents  state  that 
this  variety  was  the  one  most  commonly  grown  in  Madison  county 
during  the  late  forties.  This  corn  was  known  also  in  the  county  as 
Indian  Blue.  According  to  a  local  tradition,  it  was  being  grown  by 
the  Indians  when  the  first  settlers  located  in  Madison  county,  altho 
no  reliable  historical  evidence  has  been  found  to  confirm  this  story. 
Several  farmers  who  are  able  to  recall  the  chinch-bug  damage  of  the 
years  1882  to  1888,  state  that  this  was  the  only  variety  which  never 
failed  to  produce  at  least  a  partial  crop  during  those  years.  During 
the  recent  outbreak  of  chinch-bugs,  farmers  growing  Mohawk  corn 
have  continued  to  produce  fair  crops. 

St.  Charles  County  White,  also  known  as  St.  Charles  White,  is  a 
native  Missouri  variety  which  was  developed  in  St.  Charles  county. 
It  is  grown  extensively  thruout  southern  Missouri.  The  ears  are 
relatively  small,  rather  smooth,  with  a  medium  broad  to  broad  kernel 
of  good  depth.  This  corn  is  rather  distinctive  because  of  its  pearly 
white  kernels  and  blood-red  cob.  It  is  generally  recognized  as  a  hardy 
corn.  It  is  a  rather  late  variety,  requiring  approximately  125  to  130 
days  to  mature. 

U.  S.  Selection  No.  200  is  a  selection  from  St.  Charles  White. 

Commercial  White,  also  a  native  Missouri  variety,  was  originated 
in  Barton  county,  southwestern  Missouri.  This  corn  was  developed 
by  selecting  from  St.  Charles  White  the  ears  with  white  cobs.  The 
time  required  for  maturity  is  approximately  the  same  as  that  for  St. 
Charles  White. 


548  BULLETIN  No.  243  [April, 

U.  S.  Selection  No.  77  is  a  selection  which  was  made  by  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  in  1902,  from  Woodburn  White  Dent. 
The  latter  is  one  of  the  old,  established  varieties  which  has  been  grown 
in  the  Scioto  river  bottoms  near  Piketown,  Ohio,  for  nearly  fifty  years. 

Silver  King  is  a  variety  which  was  developed  near  Ft.  Atkinson, 
Iowa,  and  is  generally  recommended  and  grown  in  the  northern  part 
of  that  state.  It  is  a  white  corn,  medium-early  maturing,  with  an  ear 
medium  in  size  and  rather  rough  in  type. 

Pride  of  Saline,  a  white  dent  corn,  is  a  native  of  western  Kansas 
which  was  developed  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Kellogg  of  Russell  county.  This 
variety  is  rather  smooth,  having  a  medium-shallow  kernel  of  rather 
flinty  type.  It  matures  in  about  120  days. 

Freed  White  Dent  is  also  a  native  of  western  Kansas.  It  was 
developed  by  selection  from  a  local  corn  by  Mr.  J.  K.  Freed  of  Scott 
City. 

Colby  Bloody  Butcher  is  another  Kansas  variety  grown  rather  gen- 
erally in  Thomas  county  of  that  state.  This  is  a  red,  early  maturing 
corn,  popular  where  it  is  grown  in  western  Kansas. 

Lancaster  Surecrop  was  developed  by  Mr.  John  E.  Hershey  of 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  from  seed  sent  to  him  by  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  about  1868.  This  same  selection  was 
maintained  until  1903  by  three  generations  of  the  Hershey  family. 

Prints  Yellow  Dent  is  a  local  strain  found  growing  in  eastern 
Effingham  and  western  Cumberland  counties,  Illinois,  where  it  was 
reported  to  be  resistant  to  chinch-bugs.  It  is  not  regarded  as  a  well- 
established  variety. 

Northwestern  Dent  is  a  very  early  maturing  red  dent  variety, 
commonly  grown  in  northern  Minnesota.  The  ears  are  medium  smooth 
with  medium  to  shallow,  yellow-capped  kernels. 

Minnesota  No.  13  is  an  early  variety  developed  at  Minnesota  Ex- 
periment Station  from  seed  secured  in  1893.  This  is  a  yellow  corn, 
with  a  kernel  of  medium  depth,  having  a  rather  smooth  indentation. 

GENERAL  ADAPTATION  OF  VARIETIES 

Obviously  not  all  the  varieties  included  in  these  studies  are  equally 
well  adapted  to  the  area  under  consideration.  It  is  of  interest,  there- 
fore, to  compare  the  yields  of  some  of  these  varieties  where  they  have 
been  grown  for  a  considerable  number  of  years  on  several  of  the  Uni- 
versity experiment  fields. 

SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS 

The  University  of  Illinois  experiment  field,  located  at  Alhambra 
in  Madison  county,  offers  perhaps  the  best  opportunity  for  compar- 


192 3]  CORN  VARIETIES  FOR  CHINCH-BUG  INFESTED  AREAS  549 

ing  the  adaptability  of  these  varieties  to  the  chinch-bug  infested  region 
of  the  state,  since  this  field  is  located  near  the  center  of  the  present 
chinch-bug  outbreak  and  on  a  soil  type  which  is  fairly  representative 
of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  land  under  infestation.  All  the  varie- 
ties of  corn  grown  on  this  field  have  been  affected  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  by  chinch-bugs.  During  three  of  the  four  years  1919  to  1922 
in  which  the  experiment  field  has  been  in  operation,  the  second  brood 
of  chinch-bugs  has  been  very  destructive.  In  the  year  1920,  both  the 
first  and  the  second  broods  caused  considerable  damage.  The  yields, 
therefore,  should  be  considered  as  influenced  by  chinch-bug  damage. 
Of  the  thirteen  varieties  which  have  been  tested  during  the  four  years, 
Champion  White  Pearl,  as  an  average  of  this  four-year  period,  has 
given  higher  yields  than  any  of  the  other  varieties  tested.  With  the 
fourth  season,  two  new  varieties  were  added,  Black  Hawk  and  Mohawk. 
Mohawk  was  the  highest  yielding  corn  for  the  year  on  this  field. 

On  the  experiment  field  located  in  Wayne  county  at  Fairfield, 
chinch-bug  damage  has  not  been  serious.  No  first-brood  injury  what- 
ever has  been  experienced.  While  some  second-brood  infestation  has 
occurred  during  the  years  1920,  1921,  and  1922,  the  damage  was  not 
so  serious  as  that  incurred  at  Alhambra.  During  the  seven-year 
period  1916  to  1922,  thirteen  varieties  have  been  included  in  the  trials 
on  this  field.  As  an  average  of  the  seven  years,  Champion  White 
Pearl  has  given  the  highest  yield.  Democrat  has  been  included  in  the 
trials  since  1919  only.  Taking  the  four-year  period  1919  to  1922, 
there  is  practically  no  difference  in  the  yields  of  Champion  White 
Pearl  and  Democrat.  Black  Hawk  was  not  grown  in  this  field  until 
1922,  but  in  that  one  year  it  gave  the  highest  yield. 

An  eight-year  test  ending  in  1915,  during  which  time  no  chinch- 
bugs  were  present,  showed  Funk 's  Ninety  Day  and  Reid 's  Yellow  Dent 
to  average  somewhat  higher  yields  than  Champion  White  Pearl.  Nota- 
tions made  at  harvest  time,  however,  indicate  that  notwithstanding  the 
apparently  greater  total  yield  of  corn  produced  by  these  two  yellow 
varieties,  their  quality  on  this  poor  soil  was  very  low,  whereas  Cham- 
pion White  Pearl  was  noted  for  its  large  percentage  of  well-matured, 
sound,  marketable  corn. 

CENTRAL  ILLINOIS  % 

The  corn  variety  trials  in  central  Illinois  which  have  been  con- 
ducted at  the  TTrbana  field  since  1888  have  included,  for  a  period  of 
years,  only  one  of  the  chinch-bug  resistant  corns,  Champion  White 
Pearl.  This  variety  was  included  in  the  first  trials  and  has  remained 
as  one  of  the  established  varieties. 

The  average  yield  of  Champion  White  Pearl  for  the  first  eight 
years  ending  1895,  was  71.2  bushels  per  acre,  compared  with  71.8 
bushels  for  Boone  County  White  and  68.6  for  Learning.  Reid's  Yel- 


550 


BULLETIN  No.  243 


low  Dent  did  not  appear  in  the  early  trials.  For  the  twelve-year 
period  ending  in  1915,  during  which  Champion  White  Pearl  and 
Reid's  Yellow  Dent  were  compared,  Reid's  Yellow  Dent  averaged 
61.0  bushels  per  acre  and  Champion  White  Pearl,  57.6  bushels. 

In  tests  conducted  during  the  last  four  years,  1919  to  1922,  on 
this  field,  Champion  White  Pearl  and  Democrat  were  both  found  to 
occupy  much  the  same  relative  position  with  reference  to  Reid's  Yel- 
low Dent  as  had  Champion  White  Pearl  during  the  twelve-year  period . 
ending  in  1915. 

During  the  season  of  1922,  Black  Hawk  was  included  in  the  va- 
riety trials  at  Urbana  and  gave  a  greater  yield  than  either  Cham- 
pion White  Pearl  or  Democrat,  standing  approximately  at  85.8  per- 
cent when  compared  with  the  standard,  Reid 's  Yellow  Dent. 


Golden    Beauty 


Mohawk 


Champion  'VVTiite  Pearl, 
or    Democrat 

FIG.  5. — TYPICAL  EARS  OF  FOUR  RESISTANT  VARIETIES  OF  CORN 


Black  Hawk 


—70 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


